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Fleet Emissions

Carbon emissions from City Fleet are on the rise. Over the last few fiscal years, emissions from the City's vehicle fleet have increased to 2 percent over FY 06-07 levels. This increase is primarily the result of less use of biofuels and increased activity by public agencies investing in construction, roads and other infrastructure maintenance to support Portland's population growth.

The City continues to prioritize low-carbon and high fuel-efficiency vehicles and works to right-size the vehicles/equipment to the required use to minimize emissions and fuel consumption. While carbon emissions from City fleets rose slightly in the last few years, many projects and programs are in place to lower carbon emissions from City vehicles and equipment.

Total vehicle carbon emissions

Percent change in carbon emissions from FY 06-07

The 2030 fleet performance objective was achieved in FY 07-08 when 41 percent of diesel fuel use was from locally sourced biodiesel. Since that time, the City has significantly reduced its use of biofuels.

The City is working to identify new low carbon fuels as part of the Oregon Low Carbon Fuel Standard adopted by the State. Lower carbon fuels do come with a cost premium and the city will have to carefully balance the environmental benefits with costs to bureau budgets.

Supporting projects

Fleet electrification is expected to be a primary driver of carbon emissions reduction from City fleet vehicles. Of 125 City vehicles identified to convert to electric vehicles (EVs), 80 have already been purchased and are currently in service. The City has already met its 2020 goal of converting 20 percent of its eligible vehicles to EVs, and is well on its way towards reaching the goal of 30 percent by 2030.

Today, 50 electric charge stations have been installed and the City is working to install at least 40 more chargers at the 1900 Building.

The Bureau of Environmental Services is retrofitting a portion of its fleet to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) beginning in 2017.

Award winning Green Fleet: The Office of Management and Finance's CityFleet won the National Green Fleet award in 2010. This maintenance shop takes measures to reduce environmental waste by:

Retreading tires annually to reduce landfill waste.

Reducing lead purchases.

Recycling vehicle wash water.

Using as much B20 (biodiesel) as currently feasible.

Track vehicle expenses from cradle to grave including fuel use and miles driven.

All new diesel vehicles have emission control devices installed from the factory.